Finding Your Self in Art

I think this picture of me was taken in Ireland in 2004. It's inspiring sometimes to write outdoors.

In my previous blog i was saying that artists, despite their dealing with humanity's deep feelings and concerns, are no better morally — and often worse — than anyone else. A related question is whether or not having a "higher" consciousness (whatever that is) makes them better artists, or if making art somehow "elevates" them in this way. Trying to define what that spiritual state might be is, of course, impossible, but i'm not talking now about moral superiority so much as some level of awareness that one might strive for through meditation, yoga, Sufi dancing, etc. In other words, is making art a kind of spiritual discipline?

C.G. Jung, who i think of as the Einstein of psychology (more on that some other day), devoted many years to studying alchemy, which he saw was not just an attempt to make gold but also (unconsciously) a process of refining the personality in search of the eternal Self. So too can the artist work to grow in consciousness through the creative process, a lifelong effort. 

This explains why many artists seem narcissistic, especially if their work is solitary in nature, like writing. I've been writing about myself all my life in diaries, plays, poems — even an autobiography at the age of 19! Performing artists, on the other hand, have to work with other people, so their "alchemical" quest is more extraverted, like a choreographer.

It's a wonderful feeling when, either as a creative or performing artist, you're in touch with your true Self; because then everything flows: you're confident, focused but relaxed, not judging yourself, and happily alive in the moment.